One of the most enjoyable parts of the fantasy football season is the draft itself. Just like there are different fantasy football league formats, there are different ways to draft as well. Most fantasy football players participate in a snake/serpentine draft in which you’re given a specific draft spot in a specific draft order for the entire draft as the pick order goes forwards and backwards. By being in a specific draft spot, it prevents you from forming the team exactly how you want it. What if there’s a way to get both Ja’Marr Chase and Saquon Barkley on your team? Fantasy Football auction drafts make that possible.

In an auction, fantasy football players aren’t given a specific draft slot. They’re given a budget of draft money (usually $200) and a player nomination order. When it’s your turn, you put a player up for bidding and as long as you don’t go over your budget, you can bid on players that you want as they get nominated to be drafted. These types of drafts normally take a little longer than snake drafts, but they give you the opportunity to go after exactly who you want. The auction continues until everyone’s roster is filled and if there’s money leftover in your budget after your team is formed, it generally doesn’t get transferred for in-season use. Spend all of your money! There are many different strategies to take into consideration in order to form a good team from a fantasy football auction.

Getting ready for the auction itself takes time and organization a decent amount of pre-draft work. It’s worth it though because you’ll be prepared. Prior to the auction, write a list of 10-13 players that you want to target. Mix in proven top end talent with other lesser-known players that you can bid on and not have to spend as much. The top players can go for as much as $70, but generally stay between $55-$65. Those players that would generally get drafted in the late first round and most of the second round will likely go for $40-$53 in auctions. Having that list of players written and in your field of vision during the auction will help keep you focused and give you the confidence to spend on a player you desire. A popular proven player will cost more and even if that player is going for a higher amount than you originally anticipated, don’t back down if you really want the player. In auctions, you have to take a stand and be able to out-bid others to make sure you get the players you want.

While I firmly believe that you have to spend and sometimes overspend on players, your budget should be kept in mind. Some players take it to the extreme and intentionally don’t spend until about a quarter of the way through the auction because they think they will control the board with the most money. By waiting on spending until a specific time of the auction could lead to you missing out on the top tiers of Running Backs and Wide Receivers. Try to get at least one top-two tier RB and WR. There are plenty of Quarterbacks and Tight Ends that get auctioned for less than $10 and those are positions that you don’t have to spend as much on to get a top-10 player. You’ll also be able to balance your budget by keeping an eye on your “max bid” that will appear near your team that tells you the most you can spend on a single player based on your budget and how many spots you still need to fill on your roster. This is important to watch especially near the end of the auction because you’ll see a lot of 3^rd NFL WRs on a team and backup RBs go for $1-$4 and you’ll want to keep your max bid at $2-$3 so you can land that super sleeper or specific value player you desire at the end and you won’t have as much competition to get the player from your leaguemates. There is a decent talent pool that will still be available near the end of the auction when all teams have fewer than $10 left which is why you shouldn’t be afraid to spend big on who you want early on.

In order for the auction to go as smoothly as possible, all of your leagues MUST be in the auction room at all times. These websites still haven’t figured out proper “auto-bidding” unlike “auto-drafting” in snake drafts where you pre-rank your players and the computer will take from your specific list if you don’t show up. If a leaguemate doesn’t show up to the auction, the computer will bid big on the first few players no matter who they are until they can’t bid anymore. It ruins the experience for everyone else. If you have to go to bathroom, get a drink, make sure you stay in the auction room.

A few strategies to consider for your auction include nominating players you don’t want early on to get others spending and then switching it up mid-auction. If you happen to land one of the first few nomination spots, throw out someone you want because there’s often hesitation on spending right at the start of the draft and you can benefit from others who want to wait and see how much the first few players go for. If you’re in a bidding battle against a leaguemate, change up the pace of bidding. Instead of raising the price immediately in a quick back and forth, wait eight of the 10 seconds you have to decide on bidding so your leaguemate gets out of bidding rhythm and possibly out of focus thus leading to you getting the player.

Fantasy football auctions give you the most control over your team’s destiny. They require more time and focus, but they’re the best way to draft and are a ton of fun.